The New Protector
by Pepper Rose
Summary: Edward leaves Bella. She runs away from home because she is so sad. Then, someone finds her and becomes her new protector, since Edward left her. I'm not good at summaries and this is my first fanfic! Please read and review! x
1. Leaving

**This is my first fanfic, please read and review! :)**

**It is set after Twilight, instead of New Moon.**

**All owned by Stephenie Meyer. :)**

* * *

It was lunchtime and I was queuing up for food. I saw my friends sat at our table, but it didn't look like there was any room for me because there was another new girl in my place. I guess my novelty wore off after a year. Or maybe it just wore off because there was a new, shinier toy available.

The new girl was from Florida and was telling all my friends fascinating stories about the sun and the heat. Everyone was deeply interested, so no-one even looked up when I walked over to them with my tray.

I felt hurt and pushed out and I knew that Edward, my gentle, caring vampire boyfriend, would make me feel better. Just imagining his beautiful face and dazzling eyes made me happier, already. So I went to sit with Edward and the other Cullens, at their table.

As I headed towards them, Rosalie glared at me. When she stared, her eyes were full of fury and hatred. I felt her eyes burning into me, as she watched me approach. She never looked away and it felt awkward to stare back at her because I could tell that she had a strong dislike for me.

I had always felt that Rosalie didn't like me; it showed from the first time she saw me with Edward. I started to think that sitting at the same table as her wasn't the beat idea, but I couldn't turn back now.

Besides, Edward's warm smile sped up my heartbeat and comforted me, making me feel more welcome. I sat next to him and tried to ignore Rosalie, despite the fact that I could sense that she was watching me with those cold stone eyes. Throughout lunch, I tried to block out Rosalie from my mind, but I still knew that she was there, giving me nasty looks and it made me feet increasingly uncomfortable.

When the lunch hour was over, everyone got up and left the table swiftly, to go to their lesson. Watching them walk so gracefully and elegantly often made me jealous, me being as clumsy as I am. Rosalie was purposefully slower than the others, so we were the last left at the Cullen table.

As I picked my bag up, lifting it onto one shoulder, Rosalie snarled, "Leave me and my family alone. You're not like us so it would be best if you were with people of your own kind. Forget all that you know about us and erase us from your life, completely. Edward was foolish to have told you our secret. Now we are all in danger of exposure."

"Rosalie, I would never –" I started to say, before Rosalie interrupted me.

"If you don't break up with Edward and forget about all of us, then I will make sure you do." Rosalie hissed. With that, Rosalie followed everyone else, leaving me alone in the lunch hall, stunned and slightly scared that she had threatened me.

For the rest of the day, Edward was distant. He never smiled, never looked at me and never said anything more than one word answers. I wondered whether he had heard what Rosalie said when she spoke to me after lunch.

Edward continued to be like this for a few days. He stopped coming over, stopped staying with me at night. Surely what Rosalie said couldn't be bugging him this much. Whatever it was, Edward kept a distance from me, which was normally unheard of. As the days went on, it began to get worse.

A week later, Edward met me in the car park, after school. I was surprised because, lately, he hadn't been giving me lifts to and from school and he just went home without saying goodbye.

"Bella," he said, weighing each word before he said it. "This is hard for me, too, but we have to stop seeing each other. We're not right together. It has to end. I'm sorry."

As he spoke, I felt my heart do strange things inside me. It felt like it was being stretched and twisted. Edward glanced over his shoulder at Rosalie, who was leaning against Edward's silver Volvo, with her arms folded and a slightly smug look on her face.

I was suddenly hot with rage because I knew that Rosalie must have had something to do with what Edward was saying to me. I was confused and upset and I felt like throwing up, but also bursting into tears.

"What? Why? Did Rosalie tell you to break up with me?" I demanded to know.

"No. Well, yes, she did tell me to, but that's not why I'm doing this." Edward said calmly, yet with a hint of sadness in his voice. "I'm doing this for your safety. It's not right for a human to be hanging out with a coven of vampires. There's a reason for that, Bella."

When he spoke my name, I thought I heard his tone turn a little bit more caring, but why would he possibly care about me if he was breaking up with me, leaving me on my own, vulnerable, lonely and unable to defend myself?

"Don't you love me, any-more?" I asked quietly, feeling small.

"No."

Rejection washed over me and the ache in my heart turned to a sharp stabbing pain. Perhaps this was what it felt like when your heart was breaking. I felt the sudden urge to cry and run away, back home, somewhere safe. Before I could move, Edward spoke again.

"We're leaving, Bella. All of us. We can't stay here any longer. That's not your fault. We've just been here for too long. This will make it easier for you. It'll be like we never existed. You can forget all about me."

"I'll never be able to forget about you, Edward."

"You will, eventually. Human memories fade over time. Goodbye, Bella. Keep safe."

Before I had the chance to say goodbye to the man that didn't love me any-more, he kissed my on the forehead, turned away and left me. Forever. He got in the car, with the rest of his family and drove away. I would never see him again.

I couldn't believe how stupid I was to have actually thought that he ever loved me, to have thought that, one day, I might become an addition to his family and we would stay together, forever. Of course he didn't love me. Why would anyone so beautiful and wonderful and perfect love anyone like me? I was none of those things.

When I arrived home, I didn't feel like I was really there. When Charlie got home from work, we hardly spoke. He didn't suspect that anything had changed, even though my whole reason for living was gone, because neither of us are really ones for a long conversation. We've probably never actually had a conversation that's lasted for more than five minutes. That wasn't going to change now.

I went upstairs, to my room, after dinner and as soon as the door was shut, I started to cry. I couldn't hold it in any longer. I lay down on my bed and cried into my pillow for hours and hours. I was dying inside because the love of my life had left me – at least that's how I felt.

I had no reason for living any-more because the centre of my universe was gone. Now I was just orbiting around nothing. No reason at all. No reason to still be here, but I couldn't bring myself to make myself disappear, forever. I had to think of Charlie. He would blame himself and would wallow in guilt for the rest of his then empty life.

I was sobbing and sobbing, sobbing until my eyes ran dry and I could cry no more. Finally, I fell asleep, snuggling into the soaking, salty pillow. I let myself drift away into unconsciousness, into darkness. I invited the darkness in, to envelope me and pull me under, to a place where I couldn't hurt. Sleep.

"_Don't you love me, any-more?" I asked quietly, feeling small._

"_No."_

_Rejection washed over me and the ache in my heart turned to a sharp stabbing pain. Perhaps this was what it felt like when your heart was breaking. I felt the sudden urge to cry and run away, back home, somewhere safe. Before I could move, Edward spoke again._

"_We're leaving, Bella. All of us. We can't stay here any longer. That's not your fault. We've just been here for too long. This will make it easier for you. It'll be like we never existed. You can forget all about me."_

"_I'll never be able to forget about you, Edward."_

"_You will, eventually. Human memories fade over time. Goodbye, Bella. Keep safe."_

Oh, how wrong I was that I could escape the pain. Even my subconscious couldn't get away from it. When I awoke, I was weeping again. I didn't just feel pain and sadness, now; I felt anger and hate. Not directed at Edward, though. I could never hate my Edward.

I was angry at Rosalie because she was selfish enough to not even want her brother to be happy, but now I guess that wasn't the case – he didn't love me. Rosalie and Edward himself had both told me to forget about him. That would be harder than not being able to see him ever again.

And Alice! Oh, Alice. I knew she would never stop loving me. She was the sister I never had. I never got to say good bye to Alice. I wonder if she thought it were best that way, not having to go through the added hurt of saying those last, final words. I would miss everything about Alice. The way she would drag me off to go shopping, the way she helped me with my walking cast, the way she would sometimes come over in the mornings and do my hair for me. I would miss her so much.

I would miss my Edward much, much more, though. He was the centre of my being, the whole point of my existence. And he didn't love me. He was gone. Forever. Never again would I be able to look at his smile, into his golden eyes, be held safe in his arms, smell his calming, seductive scent.

This realisation made the pain even more. The twisting and stretching of my heart turned into ripping. I was completely heartbroken.

Although my Edward no longer loved me, I was sure Rosalie had some thing to do with a small part of it. My Edward only turned distant after Rosalie had threatened me. Maybe what she said had seemed like a good idea to him, since he didn't love me. I pondered on the thought that maybe he hadn't loved me for a while and had only stuck around to be my protector, since I was unable to do so myself and I seemed to attract danger or trouble like a magnet.

I was overwhelmed by all these contrasting feelings. I needed to get away so I could be completely on my own for a while. I didn't know how long I might need so I packed a small backpack with food and clothes and threw it out the window.

I quietly swung myself outside, through the window, by holding the drainpipe. It was higher than I had thought it would be. I was still sobbing, but quieter than before, so I wouldn't get caught by Charlie or any of the other neighbours.

It was dark now, since I woke up. Probably very early in the morning. I didn't bother to check the time on my phone because I wouldn't be needing it, wherever I was going, so I hadn't taken it off the dresser.

Once I was down the pipe, I picked up my bag and started towards the edge of the forest, by my house. I ran and ran and kept running, never looking back. I didn't know where I was running to; all I knew was that I needed to be alone and away from everything and everyone. I just needed to be all by myself for a while, so I could sort my head out.

Eventually, my feet led me to the meadow where my Edward showed me what his skin looked like, when the sun shined on it. It was strange that I had managed to get here because all the other times that I had gone into the forest on my own, I had never found it.

I remember the way he took me on his back and we ran through the forest at lightening speed. I remember the way Edward's skin glittered and sparkled, as if a million tiny diamonds were embedded on the surface. I remember the way I was awed that he could look even more beautiful than before, my shining, golden-eyed angel, the centre of my being. I remember the way he smiled as he felt the warmth of my skin. I remember the way we were, together.

I walked into our meadow, looking around at how different it was, since I was last here. When I came here with my Edward, it was Summer, the happiest season of them all. There were wild-flowers all around us, ranging in colour. There were yellow, white, purple and red, all beautifully contrasting with the rich green of the grass. The Sun shone down on Edward and I, we were happy. He loved me, back then.

As I looked around this mystical place, now, I took in all the differences – in the ways the meadow had changed and how my life had changed. It was coming close to Winter, the coldest season of them all. The meadow now looked sad. There were no beautiful wild-flowers, the grass was no longer green. It was early dawn now and already, there was no sunshine. My Edward didn't love me.

I tried not to think about the past week, when Edward was so down and distant. Instead, I focused on thinking of the good times that we had had together. This made me cry again because I wasn't supposed to be thinking of him, I was supposed to be forgetting everything. How could I possibly forget the one person that had given my life a purpose?

I slumped down in the long, yellow grass, with tears slowly falling down my cheeks. I must have sat there for a while because it began to get cold and dark. I pulled out a blanket from my backpack and wrapped myself in it.

After some time, I stopped weeping. My tears dried on my face, leaving salty powder in trails. I brushed them off my face and sat up. Charlie must be getting worried. He might be looking for me. I didn't want to be found, not yet.

Just then, I heard something moving in the trees that lined Edward's meadow. I looked up but I couldn't see anything with these weak human eyes. It was probably just a bear or a wolf, or something. I just hoped it would finish me quickly; I didn't need more pain.

Again, I heard the thing moving about in the undergrowth of the forest, closer to me. It was watching me, probably deciding how to attack. Hurry up, already! I have no wish to keep living, now that Edward doesn't love me. Please, end my life for me.

There was more rustling, in different places around me. There was either more than one of whatever it was, or it was moving _very_ fast. The first option seemed more likely, since nothing could move that fast, except... No. Why would he come back for me? He wouldn't, I knew that. He didn't love me, of course. Still, I felt a small pang of hope. I stood up and scanned the edge of the forest, trying to see if my Edward had changed his mind, even though I knew that would never happen.

It went silent for a minute. All I could hear was my breathing and my heartbeat, thumping inside my chest. I sensed something behind me. I turned around, suddenly anxious and afraid. I looked at the figure standing at the edge of the trees, motionless. That was when I saw who it was...

* * *

**Please review! :) Tell me what you think :)**


	2. Brownie

**Okay, here it is: Chapter 2. I didn't know whether I was going to keep writing, but my fans encouraged me to go on. Thank you to everyone who did. :) Review, please. :)**

* * *

I saw a small, pixie-like shape step out of the shadows, cast by the trees. The figure wore an expression of shock, disapproval and confusion. I thought I would never see this impish face again. I realised my jaw was hanging open and I had been staring at her for a few minutes. I closed my mouth at composed myself.

"Alice?" I croaked.

"It's really me, Bella." Alice assured me, coming forward for a hug.

"Alice! Oh, Alice!" I started to say as I flung my arms around her stone cold neck. I started sobbing into Alice's shoulder and she comforted me until I stopped.

"Bella!" Alice scolded me, "What are you doing in the middle of the woods at night time?"

"I..." I started to say, but I couldn't find the words to explain it. The week that had gone by had been a blur.

"Look at you, Bella! You look like you haven't eaten in days!"

"I haven't had much of an appetite. I did pack food though. I have two chocolate bars, an apple, a mini chocolate chip cupcake and a bottle of water." The thought of food made me hungry. My stomach growled unhappily.

"Eat. Now." Alice commanded, "I can't take you home looking like this."

I followed Alice's instructions and ate all the food in my backpack. It was dark and cold and I began to shiver, despite the blanket around my shoulders.

"Come on, Bella, I need to get you home. Preferably before you catch your death, out here."

I picked my bag up and put it on my back, keeping the blanket around me. Without hesitation, I climbed onto Alice's back and we sped home at lightening speed. I never felt the need to cover my eyes because I was used to this method of travel, now.

When I got home, there were about ten cars parked in the driveway and in the edge of the road. Flash light beams spotted my arrival first. I was no longer on Alice's back, but I didn't remember getting off. I looked around for Alice, but she was nowhere to be seen. Did I dream it all?

People started shouting, calling my name, saying, "She's back!" and calling for Charlie. A search seemed to have been going on and there must have been thirty people all around Charlie's house. Charlie must have been so worried... I suddenly felt incredibly guilty for putting Charlie through all this.

I was just standing there, by the edge of the forest near my house, listening to all the commotion that seemed to have started when someone noticed my arrival. Everyone came rushing out to greet me, after spending God knows how long looking for me. The crowd separated and Charlie came through the gap.

Charlie stared at me for a couple of seconds and then gave me a huge hug. The hug lasted for a few minutes, but then Charlie broke away and grabbed me by the shoulders. His face was twisted with worry and pain.

"Where have you been, missy?" Charlie demanded, shaking my shoulders.

"I... went for a walk," I said slowly. That was the truth. "And... I got lost." That part wasn't the truth. I knew exactly where I was and I had no intention of leaving. Realising this and staring into Charlie's worried eyes made me feel extremely bad. I was planning on causing Charlie even more pain.

"You went for a walk in the middle of the night?" Charlie's tone changed from concern to annoyance.

"I'm sorry. I should have known better. I won't do it again, I promise." I gave Charlie my most sincere smile to calm him down.

"Okay. Well, you look terrible. You better go inside and get something to eat."

I walked into the house as Charlie turned to the search party to thank them for helping him. I got into the shower and let the warm water run down my back, soothing my pain. I hadn't noticed how much my back was hurting from lying on the rough, uneven ground for so long.

After my shower, I got into my pyjamas and curled up in bed. It was warmer than I was used to, for two reasons. The first reason was that I had spent the last two nights in the freezing cold forest. The second reason was that, for a while now, Edward had stayed with me, watching me sleep. I supposed I had better get used to the heat, since Edward was never going to come back, if he didn't love me and because I wasn't planning on sleeping in the forest, ever again.

I started to drift to sleep, wondering if Alice had really came back, or if it was just my imagination showing me what I wanted to see. A few hours later, when Charlie had finished watching the game and had gone to bed, I felt cool arms wrap around me. I still didn't know if I was hallucinating or not, but I never got to ask because I fell asleep to a tune I remembered, from what seemed like long ago.

I woke up from a dreamless sleep, feeling a lot cooler than last night, when my room was so unbearably hot. I looked around my room and spotted Alice in the rocking chair. She was watching me and she smiled when I saw her. Next to the rocking chair was a collection of shopping bags, stuffed to the brim with clothes.

"Alice? What are you doing here? And why are there so many shopping bags in my room?" I asked suspiciously.

"Well, I went shopping. You have no idea what the shops are like in–," She interrupted herself. "Sorry, I can't tell you where we moved to. He told me not to." Alice apologised. I dismissed this because I was in trouble. There were at least ten shopping bags next to Alice and plenty more scattered around the room.

"So you decided to go shopping and left all your new clothes here? You have a house, you know."

"No, silly. I already put _my_ new things at my house... These are for you!" Alice was obviously excited to show me what she got, so I humoured her.

"All of them?" Alice's face was filled with joy, so I pretended to be pleased. "Wow, Alice, thanks. Aren't you going to show me my new wardrobe?"

Alice bounced around the room, collecting each bag. There were seventeen shopping bags, altogether, plus six small bags for accessories. She sat on my bed and gathered the big bags on the floor around us, the small ones placed on the bed with us. Alice showed me each outfit that she had bought and paired it with an accessory, or two. She then went through them all again, showing me how to mix and match each garment. Everything went straight over my head.

"Don't worry, I'll come over and help you pick an outfit for each day. Until, of course, you've learnt enough and can do it yourself." Did this mean she was going to leave again? Alice saw the worry cross my face and said, "But that won't be for a very long time. I mean, this is you we're talking about." She joked with a smile.

We must have spent half an hour looking through my new clothes and I wondered what time it was. It was a Monday and because Alice and I had taken so long, I would have to get ready for school quickly. I looked over to my dresser and read the time on the clock.

"Crap! I'm late! It's almost midday and I'm still in my pyjamas!" I screamed as I grabbed the clothes out of Alice's hands.

"No, you're not because Charlie called in, this morning. He said you were sick. Of course, the whole town turned out to look for you, last night, so I doubt there's anyone who hasn't heard. Anyway, you get the day off today. I wonder if you'll be off for the rest of the week..." She quickly scanned the future to check. "Well, you could get tomorrow off, but it looks like you'll have to go in, as usual, after that. Charlie left you a note, by the way. It's in the kitchen."

We headed downstairs to look at the note. Going into the kitchen made my stomach gurgle. I would have lunch soon, anyway. Taped to the counter was a scrap of paper, with a scrawly message scribbled across it.

_Bella,_

_You looked so tired last night, so I figured you'd get the day off._

_If you're really worn out, you can stay home tomorrow, too._

_I'll be back home a little early, today._

_I didn't want to leave you at home, on your own, for too long._

_Love Dad._

_P.S. No wandering off on walks in the woods._

I peeled off the tape from the counter and threw the note into the trash. I turned to Alice, who was looking at me, expectantly.

"So, psychic, what am I going to do today?"

"Well, first you're going to ask me what to wear and I get to pick your outfit!" She said, as she pulled me up the stairs.

It took even Alice a while to choose an outfit out of the thousand possible groupings available. When she was done I asked her what we were going to do next. I was interrupted by my stomach so Alice suggested that she took me out for lunch.

"What do you want for lunch, Bella? Pick anything you want." Alice asked.

"Um... I'm in the mood for a BLT sandwich and a soda."

"Is that all? Just a sandwich and a soda?"

"Yeah, that's all I need. Unlike you, who eats – or rather, drinks – loads in one hour, which lasts you for a couple of weeks. I, on the other hand, eat smaller portions a lot more regularly." I said with a grin. "Come on, I'm starving."

When I was done, we sat in the restaurant for a few minutes. After a while, I decided I wanted dessert – staring at pictures on the menu can make you hungry, even after you've just ate. The chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce was divine. I ate as much as I could, but the chocolate was so rich and I couldn't bring myself to eat the last mouthful. A brilliant idea came into my mind, at that moment.

"No." Alice said as I was about to open my mouth. "Definitely not. I would rather give up shopping."

"Alice, at least let me ask!"

"Go on, then, even though you know your answer."

"Would you eat this last piece of chocolate brownie?" She was about to disagree, but I held up my finger and stopped her. "If you do, I'll let you give me a makeover this weekend..."

I dangled that one in front of her and I knew she wouldn't be able to resist. A chance to give me a makeover was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I laughed internally at the sight of her eating a brownie.

It looked like Alice was having a battle with herself. One minute she looked at me, wistfully and the next she glared at the brownie remains, her face full of disgust. Then, in defeat, she sighed and put her head in her hands. She looked up at me, hoping I would change my mind. I grinned evilly, knowing I had won.

"Promise? You aren't going to get past me if you try to trick me, but you know that." She held out her hand, wanting me to shake it, so I couldn't break the promise.

"Promise." I said, shaking her hand lightly.

Alice glowered at the plate holding one bite of chocolate brownie and grabbed the fork. She stabbed the square of brownie and shoved it in her mouth, grimacing at me. I just smiled and watched her chew quickly and swallow. She looked like she was going to throw up because she could taste it in her mouth, still.

"Want to wash it down with a sip of my soda?" I offered. The look she gave me made me shut up.

"Well at least I get to give you a makeover." Alice said, trying to be happy.

"After that, I think we will have tortured each other equally." I agreed with a smile.

"Please excuse me – I need to use the bathroom." She parted, smiling back at me.

When Alice came back, I finished my soda and we went home. I'm sure Alice was planning all the best ways to torture me, during the makeover, on the way home. I knew this because she would stare ahead, concentrating and then she would smile, look at me in the passenger seat and laugh. This weekend was going to be bad.

* * *

**Review! You know the drill. You better review because, if you don't, I'll make you wait even longer for the next update. :) Thank you for reading though, you guys are great! And I promise I will reply to every review I get! Until next time, my friends! :)**


	3. Judgement

**Apologies for the long wait – I had a lot of stuff to do. The family came down for my birthday and I had to be the gracious host, by entertaining the children. It is hard trying to please a four year old girl who has the attention span of a fish. To add to that, I've gone back to school. It is very time-consuming and I already have lots of homework. Anyway, here it is! It's a filler chapter, sorry. The next one should be better. As always, read and review, please!**

* * *

When I got home, Charlie wasn't back, but Alice insisted that she went home. I didn't like it because it felt like when they all left me, just weeks ago. I let her go because I knew that she knew best. Looking in her eyes, I knew she also needed to hunt. Hunting didn't take her very long, if she was quick about it. She probably wanted to go home to plan the makeover weekend, too.

I got myself a glass of water and went into the living room. I turned on the TV and checked to see what was on. I flipped through the channels, finding nothing. I settled on a repeat of a cheesy sitcom.

I got bored and went upstairs to tidy my room. I opened the door, expecting to see the mess of clothes that I left, this morning. I was shocked to see that my room was tidier than it had ever been before. All the clothes and shopping bags were gone, the bed was made, the things on the desk were all in order and there was nothing out of place, anywhere.

I also noted that the curtains were different and the bed covers had been changed. Instead of the yellowed lace, there were long white and pale blue curtains that reached the floor. The curtains matched the bed covers and complimented the furniture and the colour of the walls.

This meant that Alice had been shopping in the home department, for once. It also meant that she had been here to tidy up and put here new purchases into use, while I was watching rubbish on TV. I wondered what Alice had done with my old curtains and bed covers, but I decided I didn't care because I liked the new ones.

I liked my room's new look, but I doubted that it would stay so clean for very long. The bed looked so inviting in it's new sheets, that I just had to jump on it. I did and made a mess of how clean and neat my room looked. From using all my energy on jumping on the bed, I flopped down and lay on it for a while.

A few minutes later, Charlie came home. I quickly got up and straightened the bed covers again, so it didn't look like I had been in bed all day. Charlie might have let me have the next day off, if I had been too tired to get out of bed. This might have been a good thing because I could escape the attention from people at school for one more day, but being away for so long might make the gossip worse. On top of that, Alice might use the extra day off as a chance to do the makeover. I wanted to put that off for as long as possible.

"Bella?" Charlie called up the stairs.

"Yes, Dad? What is it?" I shouted back, coming to the top of the stairs, so he could see that I was up and dressed.

"Nothing. I just wanted to check that you were still here, that's all."

Charlie went into the living room and sat down to watch the game. As he walked away, I felt my jaw drop. I was annoyed that my own father could think that I would be so stupid as to leave the house alone, after what had happened that weekend. I wouldn't put Charlie through something like that again.

When I went back into my room, Alice was sat cross-legged on my bed, holding her phone. She was staring at it intently and, at first, I didn't know if she noticed my entrance. I walked over and sat next to her. It looked like she had made the bed again, my poor attempt wasn't very good and it needed to be redone.

"Before you ask me what I'm doing, I am waiting for a call." Alice said, gazing fixedly on the phone. She looked up, her eyes unfocused and glazed over. "And the call will come in three and a half minutes."

"Who will the call be from?" I asked.

"Jasper, of course. I hate to be away from him for so long and he doesn't like it any more than I do. He really starts to bug everyone, back home. He gets worried and paranoid and makes them all feel like that, too." She smiled, although, I could tell she missed him a lot more than she showed.

The phone rang and Alice had it at her ear before I could make out what her ringtone was. Her face automatically lit up when she heard Jasper's voice. She talked at human speed, so she wasn't saying anything that she didn't mind me hearing.

"I've missed you so much! … No, honestly, I'm fine. … Well, I don't know if that would be okay with – … Is he there? … Okay, well you can't let him know this. … I'll ask. Bella?" Alice turned to me now. "Can Jasper come down? We'll stay at our house, of course, and he won't be any trouble..."

"Of course!" I was happy for any of the Cullen family to come back – even Rosalie. Any small reminders of Edward had disappeared, so new ones were welcome.

"She says it's okay. … Yeah, you'd better leave before they get back. … You should leave a note for Esme, though. She doesn't like it when members of her own family vanish without saying goodbye. … Well, I was in a rush. I had to get here quickly, or it might have been too late. … Yeah, that, too. … Okay, bye. Love you."

I didn't know what she meant by 'it might have been too late', but I didn't want to ask, in case it wasn't something I wanted to know. When Alice hung up the phone, her face told me that she wished she could have talked to Jasper for a little while longer. I tried to cheer her up by reminding her that he would be here soon.

"When will he get here?"

Alice quickly scanned the future, before answering. "He's getting the next plane out of – Sorry, I can't tell you where. Anyway, he will arrive here at approximately midnight, I'm guessing. But, if there's any delays, it might be later."

"So, you won't be staying here tonight, then?" I tried to hide the disappointment in my voice.

"No, sorry. But Jasper and I are going to make the visit official. That means, tomorrow, we will turn up at your door and declare that you will spend most of your time with us!" Alice was bouncing up and down, when she finished. She was obviously thinking about the makeover weekend. I thoroughly hoped I could drag Jasper into this one.

I let Alice go, so she could wait for him and I went to have a shower. I didn't take nearly as long as I'd hoped I would, so it was barely dark outside, when I had finished. I went to sleep, thinking about how perfect Jasper and Alice were for each other; how Alice's face had brightened when she talked to him; how they loved each other so much that they couldn't be without each other for any lengthened period of time.

When I woke up to the sound of my alarm, I was not alone. Alice and Jasper were standing around my bed, watching me as I yawned, stretched and then realised that they were there. Embarrassed, I hid my face in the pillow. Jasper laughed at my humiliation.

"Have you declared your trip officially, yet?" I said, still annoyed that Alice had let Jasper see how I looked in the morning.

"No, we just wanted to watch you wake up. Told you you wouldn't want to miss this, Jazz." Alice said as she playfully punched Jasper in the arm.

"Miss what? I haven't done anything remarkably funny yet."

"No, but you will..." Alice was waiting for it to happen, so I stuck my tongue out at her.

I went to the bathroom to get washed, watching that I didn't trip over my feet or anything else on the floor. I nearly made it safely to the door; it was the door that was the cause of my first act of clumsiness. I was watching my feet and I turned to go out the door. However, I hadn't walked far enough, so when I walked through the door, I caught my shoulder on the door, which sent me bouncing back into the wardrobe. The wardrobe doors caught on my pyjamas and opened up, spilling all the contents onto the floor.

Throughout this human action, Alice had watched me blankly, knowing what was going to happen. Jasper, on the other hand, was on the floor in stitches. I glared at him and let him feel the power of my annoyance.

"Just because all you vampires are graceful all the time and never have to deal with being clumsy." I muttered under my breath, but I knew they could hear me.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't laugh. But you've got to admit, it was quite spectacular." Jasper apologised.

"Well, you also don't have to deal with how uncoordinated you can be when you wake up because you never sleep."

"You're already pretty uncoordinated, so I imagine it must be very difficult for you!" Alice joked.

I ignored them, after that and went to the bathroom to get washed. When I was done, I went back to my room, to ask Alice what to wear. After all the time spent showing me how to match clothes, I was still as clueless as before. Of course, when I went in there, Alice had already seen that I would ask her, so she had picked out an outfit for the day I returned to school. They left and I went to have breakfast. Charlie was already gone, as always, so I didn't know why they didn't stay. I came to the conclusion that they probably wanted to spend some time together, after being apart for so long.

School passed by quickly, but not quickly enough. It was slowed down by the many people asking me if I was okay, like I had just came out of rehab or something. It began to irritate me that they all had to ask me, instead of just relying on the answer I gave the first person.

"Hey, Bella. Are you okay, now?" Jessica said sympathetically.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"What happened, Bella?" Mike worried.

"Nothing. It was just a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding? Like what?" Lauren probed. She wasn't showing as much understanding as everyone else and it seemed like she was just looking for some new gossip.

"I went for a walk and I got lost." I hoped that it would be such a boring answer that it wouldn't start any rumours.

It turned out that it did start some rumours. It came across that I was giving a vague answer, not a boring one. This meant that the gossips created some new explanations for my disappearance. Angela was the only one who didn't say anything in relation to the weekend that had passed.

Angela was always so cautious about saying anything that might upset someone. It made me really like Angela, right from the day I met her. She was definitely the best friend anyone could ask for – she cared so much about your feelings. Angela was good and kind-hearted, through and through.

Others – not so much. Some people were so unaware of how I felt, that they continued to talk about me when Angela and I got into hearing distance. I heard Lauren, Jessica and the new girl, Melissa, commenting on my pathetic explanation and discussing whether I was hiding something.

"Did you notice how short her answers were?" Lauren remarked.

"Yeah! It's like she's trying to keep us from knowing what's going on." Jessica said in agreement.

"We should investigate." Melissa enthused.

"Totally. Let's start by thinking about what triggered it." Lauren began.

"Well, it was last weekend, so what could have happened last week that was so significant?"

"Haven't you noticed that the Cullens moved away? Maybe that's what it's about. She was dating Edward Cullen." I flinched when Jessica mentioned Edward.

"I guess she's upset that he left her. It wasn't much of a surprise, really. I mean, it was bound to happen. They're so obviously not right for each other." Lauren said this with obvious jealousy in her voice.

"I know, totally. She doesn't have to act out like that, though. It's kind of ridiculous to run away from home because her boyfriend moved away and left her here."

"It's obvious that she's just searching for attention. It's so childish." Melissa had never even spoken to me, but she followed the others' resentment.

I couldn't bear to listen to any more of their judgement. They were correct about Edward being far, far too good for me, but they were completely off the mark about me being an attention seeker. Angela could sense my hurt in their words, so she led me away from the mean, spiteful girls who enjoyed talking about others' lives because theirs were so uneventful.

I couldn't wait for the day to be over, so I could go home and be alone. Or with Alice and Jasper. I didn't mind – anything that meant being away from school and it's gossiping students.

* * *

**Sorry about it being boring, but it's just a filler. The next one should be slightly better. Maybe. Hopefully. Read and review, please!**


End file.
